Rebirth
by DreamRoseSpirit
Summary: Ever since Ari went to see the movie The Phantom of the Opera, she has been hearing things and getting strange visions.  Then she ends up in a 3-month coma, and when she wakes, she knows one thing.  She remembers.  She remembers everything.
1. Prologue

If you had a second chance in life, would you take it?

If you died, would you chose to live again?

What makes a person, a person?

What defines a person's character?

What matters more: what we did in this life, or what we did in a past life?

Does it matter?

Can the past and present combine together to create our future?

Or will it be our downfall?

_Can we ever love again?_


	2. Plans

DreamRoseSpirit: Hi! I'm a new author, and I really would like feedback on my stories to see how I'm doing.

Ari: Do it, otherwise she'll have a nervous breakdown.

Rose: OMG HOW DID YOU GET HERE?

Ari: (points to the open door) Door was unlocked. Besides, didn't you invite me over to help you with the disclaimers and all that?

Rose: ...Oh yeah. Forgot.

Ari: Like you always do.

Rose: (sticks out tongue) Whatever. Now, take it away!

Ari: Rose doesn't own the movie _The Phantom of the Opera_, it belongs to Joel Schumacher, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Gaston Leroux (wrote the book that started it all). She also doesn't own the Cheshire Cat or Gerard Butler.

Rose: I wish I did!

Ari: Did what?

Rose: Own Gerard Butler!

Ari: (face palms) She what I have to deal with on a daily basis?

Rose: But Gerard is so hot! And he has an accent!

Ari: ...Anyway, the only thing Rose owns is her characters and the story plot. Other than that, like I said, she doesn't own anything else.

Rose: (crying in a corner) I want Gerard Butler!

Ari: (ignoring author) Rose will try and update whenever she can. She _does_ have a life you know. I think...

* * *

><p>'<em>Come on. Just a bit more shadow…there! Finished!'<em>

Arianya sighed with a smile as she picked up her sketchbook. The rose she was sketching for art class was finally finished. Ms. Pike had told them to pick an object from a movie and sketch it, add shadow if necessary, and no color. The assignment was due tomorrow, and Ari had finished days ago, but she still fussed over minor details that she kept on adding.

She had chosen to draw the Phantom's rose from the new movie, Joel Schumacher's _The Phantom of the Opera_. The bud of the flower was slightly open, with the thorns running down the stem neatly cut off. The black ribbon was shaded in different tones, and it was neatly tied in a bow around the middle of the stem. All in all, Ari did a decent job, and she was hoping to get an A for her work.

'_Now all I have to do now is convince Mom and Dad to let me go see the movie…'_ she thought with a groan.

There was no way her parents would let her see the film without one of them going with her. They thought the movie was a bit too violent and inappropriate for someone her age. She was freakin' sixteen! Her parents treated her like a little kid, and the unfair thing about it was they approved the video games that her brother played daily! Hugo played games with guts, blood and gore, and he was only thirteen! It just wasn't fair that her parents were doing this.

Ari sighed and set down her sketchbook. She then stood up from her easel, stretched, and then made her way over to her window seat, before plopping down and looking outside. There was nothing for her to do now, since she was here at home babysitting Hugo and Sentenia, her little sister. Her parents wouldn't get home until 1 a.m., and it was a bit after 8 right now.

Arianya was sixteen and the eldest child in her family. She had dark honey-gold hair that bordered on being chocolate brown, and had green eyes with blue specks in them. She had a lean body, and long legs that made her trip all the time, crowning her a complete klutz. Ari was a sophomore at Rolling Hills High School, and she loved to draw and cook.

Ari also loved music. She loved it with a passion. One problem: she sounded like a banshee when she tried to sing. Maybe she loved to dance to music? Nope. Her legs and klutziness took care of that problem for her.

If Ari worked hard, maybe she could be somewhat good, but every time she tried, something held her back. There was always uneasiness whenever she tried to dance or sing, and she always got dizzy and developed a headache to top it all. Because of this, you would think that she would avoid music at all costs, but she couldn't. There was always something inside her soul that was tugging her back to it, drawing her like flies to honey.

Because she was cautious with music, she was kind of a loner at Rolling Hills. It didn't help matters either that her school revolved around the performing arts program, especially the show choir. All the students either ignored her, or made her life as miserable as possible (coughBiancaMyerscough). She was just lucky that she had her two best buds, Cole and Lynsy.

Since she was a loner, and only had two friends, her parents treated her like a little girl, and that brings us back to what we mentioned earlier about not being able to see _The Phantom of the Opera_ in theaters (and staying home to baby-sit her siblings). This was just so unfair!

Ari was brought out of her moping when her cell phone rang. She jumped up and raced over to her purse on the bed, and dug through it a bit before pulling the phone out. At least she had an aunt who treated her like her age, and gave her a cell for her twelfth birthday.

"Y-ello?"

_"ARI YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT MY PARENTS JUST GO ME!"_

Pulling the phone away from her ear, and momentarily deaf for a while, she let Lynsy calm down before answering.

"Jeez, make my eardrum explode, will you?"

Pause. _"Sorry, I'm just so excited!"_

Ari rolled her eyes. "So, what did your parents get you now?"

Lynsy's parents were both well-paid doctors, so it seemed like everyday Lynsy was calling her about some new gadget that her parents surprised her with. Right now, Ari could see her best friend jumping up and down on her Arabian-style bed, with a Cheshire cat smile planted over her face.

"_My parents just bought me three tickets to see the 9 o'clock viewing of _The Phantom of the Opera _tonight!"_

A bit jealous, but still happy for her friend, she smiled.

"Cool! Though I thought your parents didn't want to go see the movie?"

"_They don't."_

Now Ari was confused. "But if they don't want to go see it, why are they going?"

Lynsy giggled. _"I never said they were going, genius."_

"Then what are you going to do with the extra tickets?"

"_Well, I just called Cole and he said he could go, now all I need to hear is you say 'Yes, Lynsy, my most amazing best friend ever, I can come.' So? Can you go?"_

Ari froze, then relaxed and sighed.

"Love to, Lyns, but you know how my parents feel about me seeing that movie. And besides, I'm babysitting the brats tonight, so I'm off limits anyway."

"_Aren't they in bed though?"_

Ari didn't know where Lynsy was going with this. "They should be at 8:30, which is in twenty-three minutes."

"_Good! Then once they're in bed, walk down the street to my house and Cole can come and pick us up!"_

Wait. Did she mean-?

"You want me to sneak out?"

"_Duh, Captain Obvious."_

"I can't! If I did, and my parents found out, I'd be grounded for life!"

Lynsy sighed. _"What time will your parents be back home?"_

"Around 1 in the morning."

"_Then I don't see what your problem is! The movie will be done by 11:30, and you'll be in bed and sleeping when your parents get home!"_

"But Lynsy…"

"_Nuh-uh, chika. You _will _go see the most amazing film ever, with the most hottest actor ever playing the Phantom, tonight, or do you want to prove your parents correct that you're their precious little angel?"_

Ari narrowed her eyes. "I am **not** a precious little angel!"

"_Then in twenty minutes get your sorry butt over here so we can go see The Phantom!"_

Her resolve was starting to wane. "I don't know…"

"_Don't you wanna see Gerard Butler? One of the most amazing actors to set foot on this planet in all his sexy wonder?"_

That did it. There was no _way_ she was going to miss seeing her most favorite actor playing the most badass character ever!

"Let me get changed and make sure my sibs are in bed, and then I'll sneak out my window and down the tree. After that, I'll be at your house in a few."

Lynsy squealed. _"I freaking _love _you!"_

Ari smirked. "Course you do. I'm just loveable!"

Both girls laughed at that, and said their goodbyes. Ari hung up, and then went over to her closet to find something warm to wear, since it _was_ the beginning of February.

As she was getting ready, Ari did not notice the pair of dull green eyes staring at her through the crack at the doorway. The owner of the eyes smirked. Ari would get to see her movie all right, and she would get into _so_ much trouble for it.

* * *

><p>Rose: Please rate and review!<p>

Ari: (walks in with a bag of potato chips) *Munch* Rosie also takes constructive criticism. *Munch*

Rose: DON'T CALL ME ROSIE! AND YOU ATE MY POTATO CHIPS!


	3. Sneaking, Movie and Visions

Rose: Hello! I have another chapter up, and I'll probably upload another one up later on today.

Ari: Same thing as last chapter. All disclaimers still apply. Oh, and she still doesn't own Gerard Butler.

Rose: (growls) Do you have to remind me of that awful fact?

Ari: Yes, yes I do.

Rose: (glare)

Ari: Sorry, it's just so much fun to annoy you! (laughs)

Rose: Do you want to go back inside my brain?

Ari: (stops laughing and stares) You wouldn't.

Rose: (smiles evilly) Oh yes I would. Or do you want me to tell everybody who you are?

Ari: (panics) Don't you dare! It'll ruin the whole story!

Rose: Ari is really...

Ari: (tackles author and wrestles her to the floor) Hurry and read before she tells!

* * *

><p>Sneaking out of her house was relatively easy. After making sure both Sentenia and Hugo were in bed, and also making sure the doors and windows to the house were locked, Ari grabbed her coat and purse, before creeping out her bedroom window. She shut it a certain way so that nobody could get into her room, except for her, of course.<p>

Everything so far was easy, but climbing down the tree that was right outside her window, now that was another thing. The tall oak seemed like it was made for climbing, but with Ari being a klutz; it was a bit harder to climb up or down. She made it down to the ground with only a few scrapes and bruises that could be covered up easily.

The second Ari hit the grass; she took off into the shadows and made her way towards the front of her family's two-story house. Her room was located on the second floor at the back of the house, but her brother's room was on the front side of the house, so when she hit the sidewalk, Ari had to stay in the shadows, just in case her brother was still up and happened to look outside his window.

It took about five minutes for her to reach her friend's family's two-story Victorian style house. Cole's car was already parked in the driveway, and both Cole and Lynsy were leaning against the car waiting for Ari to show up. Lynsy was the one who spot her first.

"There you are! We were just thinking that you changed your mind and weren't coming!"

Ari sighed and shivered, glad that she was wearing a turtleneck sweater and her suede jacket to ward off the frigid cold. Lynsy on the other hand, was wearing a light jacket with skulls and pink roses, with a navy tank top and pale Capri's on her legs. Not to mention she was also wearing sandals on her feet. At least Cole had the same idea as Ari, not Lynsy, and wore cargo pants, a t-shirt, and a winter coat that was open in the front. His normal army boots were located on his feet.

"Sorry, Lyns. It took a bit longer than I thought from sneaking away from my house. Had to stay in the shadows."

Lynsy gave an exasperated sigh and flung her arms out.

"Well then lets go! I want to get good seats, and we may not get them if we get our snacks first. Come on!"

She then went and plopped herself shotgun in the car. Ari and Cole shared a look before moving to get their own seats.

"How do we always put up with her?" asked Cole.

Ari shrugged. "Dunno. Lyns and I have been in diapers together, so I'm just used to it. I also learn not to question anything she does. No one will ever, _ever_ understand it."

Cole laughed and sat down in the driver's seat. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, and started his 1983 Ford Mustang up.

When Ari was buckling up in the back seat, she took a look at her best friend. Lynsy was looking in the pull down mirror and applying lip gloss on.

"We're going to the movies, not clubbing" she told the read-head.

Lynsy flipped her head around, and flashed hazel eyes at her.

"Your point is?" she asked.

Ari shook her head. "You, chika, are impossible."

Lynsy smirked. "Why, thank you!"

* * *

><p>The lucky thing was, the three of them managed to get drinks, popcorn <em>and<em> good seats before the movie started. Just as the previews were showing, Lynsy motioned to Ari to look in her big knitted bag, and Ari groaned when she looked. Her best friend had managed to bring a liter of Pepsi and a mega-size bag of M&M's. She'll have to deal with a hyperactive friend at the end of the movie.

Just great.

Just as the film showed the opening sequence and the scene of the auction in 1919, Ari developed a weird feeling inside of her. She didn't know how to describe it. It was just…odd. And it was a little unnerving too, if you asked her.

After the film showed the aged Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, it switched to the year 1870, where a busy Opera Populaire was shown. There were dancers all around, rehearsing for the opera they were going to perform. Ari then saw the actresses who played Christine Daaé and Meg Giry.

"_Christine! Come on, Maman will have our backsides if we are late again!"_

Ari startled and looked around. She could've sworn that she had just heard…

'_Must have picked it up from the speakers.'_ She thought with a shrug.

As the movie continued on, Ari kept on hearing words and phrases that didn't seem like they were coming from the speakers, but were still somewhat apart of the movie. She also had strange pictures flashing in her mind during certain parts of the film, and she couldn't explain it.

Another weird thing was when La Carlotta first came on; Ari's first thought was, _'Her hair's not as red, and she's a bit more pudgier in the face.'_

The same thing happened multiple times throughout the film. Everything kept on getting weirder and odder by the second, and she was lucky that her friends didn't pick up on her discomfort just yet.

And then Gerard Butler came on. Or more specifically, _The Phantom_.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and Ari tried hard to hold back a gasp. It was only a glimpse; he came on right after a scenery curtain was dropped on Carlotta, but it was enough to make her heart flutter and her mind to go crazy with more images flashing here and there. Everything was making no sense, and she was getting scared of what was happening.

Ari continued to loose control of her mind. It was not stopping, and when she winced and gripped the theater seat's armrests for the billionth time, Cole finally noticed.

"You okay?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sugar rush."

Cole seemed to accept that answer, and looked back towards the screen. But Ari knew she wasn't fine. The breaking point for her was in the final lair scene, when Christine kissed the Phantom, and then was sent away with Raoul.

Tears were cascading down her cheeks as a voice broken-heartedly inside her head sobbed, _I came back! I didn't leave him alone to die! I _came back_!_

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ari woke up to the sound of her alarm going off. She slowly got out of bed and automatically did her normal morning routine before school.<p>

Her mind though, that was a different story. Ari kept on thinking about what happened last night. She had rubbed away her tears before her friends noticed she was crying, and the same sobbing voice wouldn't go away from her mind, not even when she was sleeping.

That same voice haunted her even now. It had sounded so hopeless and broken. The voice didn't come from the movie, that was a no-brainer, but where did it come from? In fact, where did everything else she was hearing and seeing inside her head come from too?

Ari wanted answers, and a little nagging feeling at the back of her head told her she would be getting them soon, but with a price.

* * *

><p>Rose: (breaks loose of Ari's hold) Okay, okay! I wont tell!<p>

Ari: Good. If you told them, there would be no excitement.

Rose: (goes back to computer) Please rate and review!


	4. Breaking Point

Rose: Disclaimers still apply, and I don't own "10th Kingdom". Everything belongs to their respective owners.

Ari: ...

Rose: What?

Ari: You're actually acting serious for once.

Rose: So?

Ari: That's not normal. (Puts hand on Rose's forehead) Are you feeling okay?

Rose: (pushes hand away) Peachy keen darlin'.

Ari: (sees suddenly glint in author's eyes) What are you planning?

Rose: (smirks and smiles deviously) Just wait and see, just wait and see...

* * *

><p>"But Mom!"<p>

"This is final, Arianya Desireé Rosenburgh. You are grounded for a week, and next time, you better think twice before sneaking out of the house to go see a movie that your father and I told you not to go without one of us."

Her mother walked away with an air of finality, and Ari stomped her foot. This just wasn't fair! How on Earth did her parents even find out that she snuck out in the first place? She groaned and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

'_My life sucks,'_ she thought with a sigh.

Sentenia was at the kitchen table reading a book, and she flipped a page.

"You know," she drawled, "the walls have ears, Ari. You should be more careful about what you say to your friends."

Ari looked at her sister for a few seconds.

"_You_ where the one who told on me?"

Her answer was Sentenia smirking without looking up from her book. Ari narrowed her eyes and growled.

"You had no right to be eavesdropping on me! Uggh! Why do sisters have to be so infuriating?"

She didn't expect Sentenia to reply, so Ari marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. Ari was already plotting a way to get back at her sister.

'_Just you wait, sis. I'll teach you not to mess with me again.'_

* * *

><p>"Ari! Get back here with my poster!"<p>

Ari laughed as she dodged her sister's body as it lunged for her. After plotting and planning, the teen had finally come up with a way to get back at her Sentenia. She had snuck into the girl's room, and swiped her most prized possession, a poster of the mini-series "10th Kingdom" that had the character, Wolf, on it.

Honestly, Ari wouldn't have to do this if her sister would just learn keep her yap shut! Sneaking out and going to see a movie that her parents told her not to go see wasn't a bad thing, right?

Anyway, back to the present, Ari had just succeeded leaping over the couch in the living room, while dodging her T.V. engrossed brother.

"Crap, Ari! Watch where you're going!" Hugo yelled at her, even though his eyes never left the video game he was playing.

Ari rolled her eyes at the blonde idiot. Honestly, it's like that boy only survived on video games and cheese puffs. Unfortunately, as the teen was thinking this, she did not realize that Sentenia was gaining on her, so when she felt a body slam into her own, Ari was shocked. She recovered quickly though, and wrestled back into control against the smaller girl.

The two sisters went at it for a few minutes until their mom came in to see what all the commotion was.

"What's all this noise…ARIANYA? SENTENIA! BOTH OF YOU STOP IT THIS INSTANT!"

Both girls finally broke away from each other panting, and their mother took this opportunity to get in between them before something else happened. Sentenia glared at Ari, since her sister still had her poster.

"Mom! Ari took my poster and threatened she would soak it!"

Ari sneered. "That's what you get for being a tattle-tale! You weren't supposed to even know that I snuck out!"

Their mother sighed and held Sentenia back as she made another move towards her sister.

"Both of you knock it off! Ari, wipe that sneer off your face and give your sister back her poster, otherwise I'll ground you for two weeks instead of one!"

"But Mom…!" Ari whined. Her mother shook her head sternly, and Ari reluctantly handed the poster back to Sentenia while muttering about 'stupid sisters and their big mouths'.

Sentenia gratefully took back her poster and clutched it to her chest. She looked at the poster with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Wolf! Did my evil sister get you all wrinkled up?"

Ari growled. "You think I'm evil? Well then I'll show you evil!"

Ari made to lunge at her sister, but paused midway in the action and gasped. She clutched her head as searing pain shot through her brain and then all the way across her body. Ari collapsed down to the ground with tears, while crying out.

"Make it stop! Please! The pain is too much! It's too much…!"

She continued to cry out as images and voices flashed through her mind's eye. She couldn't even see her family as they crowded around her, only pictures of old fashioned buildings and people wearing clothing from what seemed like the late 1800's.

This was getting too much. The visions and voices she was hearing for the past few days were slamming into her with a vengeance.

More images flew by as she now saw people dancing in big dresses and suits, while wearing masks all around. It changed and Ari saw actors and actresses, heard a woman singing with an off-key voice, and saw dancers spinning all around her, moving faster and faster to a beat she could not hear.

Ari would have laughed if she were not in so much pain. These visions were starting to take a really deep _Phantom of the Opera_ twist, and it was almost comical. But yet…the people didn't look like the actors and actresses from the movie, and everything she was seeing looked _so familiar_.

'_What's happening to me?'_ she thought right before she saw white and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The last thing she heard was a voice that she just _knew_ by heart, but didn't recognize it. A voice that was surprisingly deep and musical (and definitely masculine) called out to her in a pained voice, but said a different name that made her heart flutter.

_Christine!_

* * *

><p>Ari: Oooh, so the plot thickens.<p>

Rose: Duh.

Ari: Do you think the readers know who I am now?

Rose: They should, and if not, they probably have a good suspicion.

Ari: Next chapter should be up in a bit, so read it! Warning: chapter is kinda short, and is in a different...setting, in a way.

Rose: Thank you to the people who have read my story so far. The comments are greatly appreciated!

Rose & Ari: Rate and Review!


	5. Last Breath

Rose: Warning! If you didn't catch Ari saying this in the last chapter, then I'll say it again for her. This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, and it is also a bit sad.

Ari: Course it's sad. Someone dies.

Rose: But there's no real emotional thing or tear-jerker in it.

Ari: ...True, so true.

Rose: I own nothing except my characters and my story! And also my overactive imagination!

* * *

><p>Breath in.<p>

Breath out.

Repeat action, and keep on doing it.

'_Why is it so hard to breath?'_ she thought.

The young woman needed to live. She couldn't die. She was separated from her Papa when she was just a little girl, and now she was going to be separated from the person her heart belonged to.

'_Just keep on breathing until he comes back, and he _will_ come back!'_ A voice in her head told her. _'You came back for him, and now he'll come back for you. Just don't die on him! Don't die!'_

A bright light interrupted her musings, and she panicked when she saw it.

'_No! I can't die! I can't leave my angel alone! I can't!'_

"You do not want to die child, but yet your time on this Earth is up for now."

She stared at the blinding light from where the voice came from. The brightness faded away, and a heavenly golden spirit stood besides the bed from where she was laying. She wanted to shake her head in the negative, that she would not die, but she was just _so weak_. Her body was motionless; the only movement showing was the slight rise and fall of her chest, where barely any air was circulating.

'_Please Spirit; I have to live! There is someone who needs me right now!'_

The Spirit's face softened. "Child, I know your love needs you, but do not fret. You shall see him again. But I fear it wont be for a long time, and at first you will not remember him."

Her already pale skin grew even paler. _'How could I forget my love? The one who has taught me everything!'_

"I know you do not want to forget, but when the time is right you will remember your beloved angel. The two of you are destined to be together. Now, it is time for you to come with me."

As her body and soul was lifted up and cradled in the Spirit's arms; she had to ask one request.

'_May I keep the ring he gave me?'_

The Spirit paused, and then nodded. "Yes. It will be a crucial thing to have to recognize your true identity."

She smiled. She would now have a piece of her beloved angel always.

With those last comforting thoughts, Christine Daaé took her last breaths of life on this Earth.

* * *

><p>Ari: Plot thickens even more! And if you hadn't already guessed, leave a comment to who you think I am! It should be plainly obvious!<p>

Rose: Rate and review, s'il vous plaît!


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